Chryse furrows her brow as she thinks it through.
"Dig out stone? Then add ...animal...stuff?"
She then sees Viola looking at her, and apparently remembers exactly what she's meant to be learning.
"...Terram, for stone? Rego to move it, or Perdo to destroy it? Then Creo or Rego...Animal?"
Viola furrows her brow. "Hmm....well...[In Latin, what she says here is basically "Dirt is dirt"--Terra est terra, I think.] You wait a long time, Animal, Herbam will be Terram. Just get Terram to be fast, though."
Scott
[My vague memory of Latin makes me think the different cases means it should probably be "Terra est Terram". Or, something.]
Chryse looks like she's struggling to understand her mistress. "Wait how long? Terram to be fast?...You add good soil?"
[The internet, which obviously never lies, says Latin has a predicate nominative just like English. I wouldn't even be surprised if English didn't have a predicate nominative until people started copying Latin, like with the un-splitting of the infinitive.]
"Just...Terram. No Herbam here."
Scott
[I had to look up what a predicate nominative even is (I reckon that's probably Latin 5, which I definitely do not have). But based on that...you're probably right, and it's nominative both times?]
Chryse is still struggling a little. "So...Creo Terram, and get good soil now without adding stuff? I have to learn Terram as well as Herbam?"
Viola thinks for a moment. "Hmm...almost....Yes, for that Terram. Not Creo....It's hard. Creo it needs vis. Rego to move it.
Scott
Chryse shakes her head, confused. "Move good soil? Where to get? Would kill plants in Petrus garden if took from there." She pauses. "Also, Petrus angry. He doesn't like me now. Shouted I would twist his plants. Told Sibai and Moldir not to go near me as my magic would go wrong and hurt everybody. I can't even do magic except when you let me. But they don't like me anyway."
[Viola probably doesn't recognise the names Sibai and Moldir, but she may be vaguely aware that Gregorius made some deal which has resulted in Petrus teaching a couple of the girls from the local village, so they're presumably them.
Chryse won't be able to cast within the Aegis without Viola giving her a token (which I am assuming she is only doing when actively teaching her, given Chryse's tendency towards uncontrolled turbulances). Of course, she could get round this by going outside the Aegis, but the guards aren't letting her go outside the walls.]
Viola nods, "We'll talk with Petrus. I bet he knows the good soil, can help, yes?"
It sounds like we have a few things to sort out. Viola will have to talk to Petrus. He's probably trying to keep his new charges away from the Gifted girl, which is understandable, but as for Petrus himself, Chryse needs to learn she can trust covenfolk, because she certainly can't get along without them.
And yes, Viola isn't going to let her have a token without supervision, but come next casting of the Aegis, it would be a real snub to exclude her from a covenant-wide ceremony. In the meantime, I think Chryse is going to need some time for experimentation on her own, albeit with Viola close by to supervise.
Scott
Chryse nods, although she doesn't seem entirely certain.
Petrus, when Viola talks to him, doesn't think his soil is that good - "grows mostly stones" - but then, since when has Petrus been positive about anything? After a few more mutters about there being a reason the people round here mostly eat fish and herd animals (and Viola pointing out "Fields, yes? With barley?"), he suggests that if you wants something within the walls she puts it near the stables that were constructed last year, on the twin bases of the area having been recently scavenged for building stone and near an easy source of fertilizer. "But the horses will probably eat it all, and poison themselves in the process most likely."
Is Viola arranging for Chryse to have an area set aside for her? And is she doing anything else?
[My 7-year-old had to be left in an inpatient program. The 12-year-old, is only somewhat better off. I've been distracted. Sorry about that.]
Yes, let's claim that area--and have the grogs put a sturdy fence around it to keep out the horses.
I think the new garden is probably a good place to give her at least part of her yearly season of direct instruction.
Scott
The grogs do the necessary construction work, and Chryse starts becoming a lot easier to find - most of the time she's not receiving instruction or eating (and a fair amount of the time she is), she's poking around in her patch of ground, occasionally muttering to herself. The actual success of the garden itself remains to be seen - it's autumn, so a lot of what Chryse is doing right now is preparation. Some of this consists of attempting to acquire seeds - unfortunately the main source for this (other than the local plants) appears to be Petrus, who isn't happy about it.
Viola will point out to Petrus that it's probably a good idea not to be on the bad side of a temperamental pre-adolescent possessed of ever-growing power.
Scott
Viola can almost see the long list of possible scenarios crossing Petrus' face. She's almost certainly not improved his view of Chryse, but she might at least have affected how much he lets it show?
Chryse seems happier now, but it does occur to Viola after a few days that she never really got to the bottom of her "friend"'s comment about one of the children of "the People of the Mind" bonding with Chryse. If there even is anything to discover...
Has the faerie friend shown up again lately? Viola will definitely press (again) for info on that.
Scott
Not immediately, but a few days later Viola does remember something her friend said to her...when was it again? She can't remember, but it seems relevant. They'd been talking about imaginary friends, and the various different types that exist. Whilst they're often fairly transient things, apparently there's (at least) one type that essentially make friends with a single child and then grow up alongside them. They're not necessarily harmful as such (indeed, they have a keen interest in their friend's continued existence), but they can cause problems when they decide to "help", or if they don't feel they're being paid enough attention.
In theory, VIola's Second Sight should help with sensing the faerie, but if that's not powerful enough, we can try a spell. Wouldn't InMe or InCo work for that?
Scott
Viola's Second Sight hasn't spotted any obvious Faeries hanging around Chryse. That's not a guarantee they're not present - they could be out of her line sight, or disguised in some way (that probably isn't an illusion, as Viola could likely see through that).
For InMe or InCo...maybe, depending on what the spell is and whether it penetrates any magic resistance. Stat out what you're casting and where?
I'm not sure randomly sponting over and over is really a good idea. We should wait until there's some sign the faerie is at hand. Viola also wants to see if she can get any kind of description out of Chryse.
Scott